


Goodbye Darkness my Old Friend

by Skyfirecules



Category: The Tick (TV 2017)
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Haunting, Mystery, Post Season 2, Rated T for language and very mild sexual content, Superheroes, constructive feedback welcome, let me know if there are other tags I should use, still bad at tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 09:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19003222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyfirecules/pseuds/Skyfirecules
Summary: After an awkward seduction attempt by a fan, Tick is left with an existential crisis while Arthur and Sage investigate.





	1. Chapter 1

Daylight was beginning to drain from the streets and alleyways, but the setting sun illuminated the Aegis building like a golden jewel. The open house was winding down but it wasn't over yet.

Sadie strode inside. She wore her best sundress, light brown with tiny pale yellow and orange flowers. She'd taken down her ponytail so her hair fell in golden-brown waves over her shoulders. She’d even worn the high-heeled sandals that Heather said made her legs look miles long.

Even so, Heather had told her she looked ridiculous. That she looked like some midwestern farm girl. That she needed to dress more sophisticated, or at least sluttier, to get a super to notice her. Especially one as handsome as The Tick, who could have any girl he wanted.

Sadie had told Heather to eat a dick, and Heather had disappeared in a huff. She'd be back before midnight. She always was, usually with harsh words and sometimes with worse. Sadie tried not to think about that.

For now, she tried to enjoy the confidence comfort lent.

The crowd was thin at this hour. Was her hero still here? A couple of supers were still out signing autographs. Bronze Star and that nipple guy. Sadie hugged herself and rubbed her bare arms. A laugh echoed around the room. Sadie turned around and saw him, The Tick, his head thrown back, his mouth wide open, roaring laughter. Arthur stood next to him, one hand grabbing his other elbow, smiling awkwardly.

The Tick. Six foot eight, blue armored exoskeleton. In the same room with her. She needed to get him alone, to confess her feelings, to let what would happen next happen. Butterflies floated in her stomach. Why was she so scared? He was her hero.

First things first. She had a photo for him to sign. She could do that. She could even introduce herself. He was so huge in person. It was like coming up close to a giraffe for the first time. Pictures couldn't convey the enormity, the sheer presence of such a creature. "Nice to meet you, Sadie, I'm the Giraffe!" she said.

"I think you have me mixed up with someone else, Miss Giraffe!" he said. "I'm The Tick!"

Was he teasing her? A black pit opened up below her. She wanted it to swallow her up.

"No, Tick,” Arthur said. “She means her name is Sadie."

"She called me Sadie, chum."

"She said the wrong words because she's nervous."

The Tick smiled at her. Oh...his smile was so charming! "No need to be nervous, Miss Giraffe. We're friendly superheroes."

Could this be going any worse? The lights flickered slightly. No one seemed to notice. “Excuse me,” she said, scurrying off. She didn’t step carefully enough and one of those damned slutty heels slid out from under her. Her ankle rolled and she fell to her knees. "Ow! God! Fuck!" she swore. She pulled the shoes off and tossed them weakly aside. Had her picture gotten bent in the fall? No, the envelope still lay flat.

"Are you all right?" the Tick said, looming over her. She looked right up into his face. Wow, his eyes were even bluer than his costume! He offered her one of his hands, and she took it. His glove was smooth, but more like cloth than leather. His grip was very strong and his hand was warm, even through the glove. He lifted her to her feet with no effort at all.

"Thank you," she said. Her voice cracked, so she cleared her throat. "Um, thank you, and also, for de-uh, defending. Um. The city."

"You're welcome!" The Tick said. His voice was so loud and masculine. Sadie cringed even as her heart did a flip-flop in her chest.

"I've been following you guys since the beginning.” She released his hand. He retained hers briefly, as though reluctant to let go. Heat crept up her cheeks.

She took the photo out of its envelope and held it up. It showed The Tick holding onto the rear end of a bus, keeping it from falling off an overpass. “See?”

"Neat!" Tick exclaimed. He took the photo. "Look, Arthur. It's from your hero debut!"

"Yeah," Arthur said. "I see that."

"My friend Heather was actually there, on the overpass. She took this picture." She sighed, gazing up at The Tick. "I'd give anything to have been there myself."

Arthur looked up from the picture. He smiled a knowing smile. "Why don't you sign this one yourself, Tick, since I'm not in it?"

"Okay! What should I write?

"Sadie, please, my name is Sadie."

Arthur spoke up, "How about, 'To Sadie, keep fighting the good fight, your friend, The Tick.'"

"That's a lot of words, chum."

"Just 'to Sadie, your friend, The Tick' is great,” Sadie said. “The picture sort of, um, speaks for itself."

"It does?" The Tick held the photo to his ear. "I don't hear anything."

Sadie giggled. The Tick had dad jokes? How old was he, anyway?

Arthur chuckled. “No, Tick, it’s an expression.”

“Ah! Then I will let the picture speak for me.” He wrote ‘To Sadie’ at the top, and ‘your friend, The Tick’ at the bottom. 

Sadie barely held back a squee. The Tick was so good and kind! Maybe there was hope after all. She tucked the photo back in the envelope. “Thank you so much. You’re so awesome!” She tried to scurry off but had to limp slightly instead. She picked up her shoes and dumped them into the nearest trash can.


	2. Chapter 2

Sadie took a short break behind the stairs to catch her breath. Her ankle stopped hurting pretty quick, so she went and mingled with the rest of the dwindling crowd. No one noticed she was barefoot. She got a selfie with the nipple guy, learning his name was Sage the Supernumerary. She spoke to a representative about how she might go about getting tested for superpowers. All the while glancing at The Tick to see if Arthur was still around and staking out various doors to see if agents or heroes moved through them.

Finally, Arthur left The Tick alone and headed to the restroom. She hurried over to her hero, her heart pounding. Her mouth went dry and she had no idea what to say.

“Hello again,” he said to her. “I signed a picture for you, didn’t I. One that spoke louder than words.”

She nodded quickly, clutching the envelope containing said picture close to her chest, then blurted, “I need you. I need your help.”

His eyebrows went up. “Is there villainy afoot?”

Sadie hesitated, then nodded. It sure felt like villainy.

“Well, then, show me the way!”

“This way…” she said, trotting over to the door she’d staked out. “In there.” She tried the door, but it was locked. “Can you open it?” she whispered.

“Hmm,” he said. He lowered his voice considerably. “Stand back, miss.”

Sadie took a step back, and The Tick opened the door, breaking the lock with a single tug. Inside was a storeroom, small but not cramped. The Tick strode in, his antennae bending and swiveling. "What secret villain lurks in the depths of this storeroom?"

Sadie closed the door behind her. “Um...Tick?” she said softly. He turned back around, still wary. “The villainy is...in me. I feel things I shouldn’t feel.”

“Criminal feelings?”

Her chest ached. She couldn’t catch her breath. Here it was, at last. “I’m...in love with you.”

The Tick relaxed, though he still seemed confused. “Love isn’t a crime,” he said.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that." Sadie was too overwhelmed with emotion to smile. This all still felt so dangerous. “I don’t expect you to love me back,” Sadie said. She took a step toward him. “I just want to be with you.”

“In a storeroom?”

“Anywhere we can be alone together.”

The Tick glanced around the storeroom. “Well. Here we are.”

Sadie's heart kept hammering. The butterflies in her stomach melted and pooled low in her abdomen. For a moment she couldn't bring herself to move. He was just so magnificent. She realized she was still clutching the photo envelope to her chest, so she put it down on a metal storage shelf before she stepped up to him.

She placed her trembling hands on his chest. The individual external armored plates were gone, but his costume still felt armored, with a somewhat yielding cloth layer over the top. "Your costume is different," she said.

“Arthur says I’m molting,” The Tick said.

Sadie giggled, not sure what he meant by that. It must be a joke she didn’t get. She stood on her tiptoes and looped her arms around his neck. She could barely do it, he was so tall. He leaned down a little, put his arms around her back and squeezed her tightly.

It was not an awkward hug. His arms and body were warm, his armor firm but not uncomfortable. His giant blue hands spread out over her back. His face dropped down to press against her hair. Sadie hadn’t experienced so caring an embrace in many years. Tears came to her eyes, and her chest relaxed. This was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.

Sadie moved her hand tentatively up the back of his helmet, testing carefully for a seam or zipper. She didn’t find one, but her hand bumped into one of his antennae. His whole body twitched. She found the antenna again and caressed it very gently, barely touching. He made a breathy “ahh” noise into her hair.

An awkward shiver went through her. It was now or never. She moved her hand down to his cheek as she turned her face toward his. Their lips met. It was the moment Sadie had dreamed of ever since she had seen the video Heather had sent her from The Tick’s first rescue.

His lips were warm but stiff. He didn’t kiss her back. When she tried again, he moved his face away and released her from his embrace. “What was that?” he asked.

Sadie blinked. “Um, what?” His brows were down. Maybe she hadn’t kissed him the way he liked? “I can do better,” she said. “Show me how you like it.”

“How I like what?”

“...kissing.”

"Ohhhhh," The Tick said. "That's what that was!"

Sadie's heart sank. "Haven't you ever…? Kissed someone before…?"

"Hmmm...I don't think so. Or maybe I can't remember? I have Am...amb…"

"Amnesia?"

The Tick snapped his fingers. "That's the one!"

Sadie's shadow deepened even as the storeroom light dimmed. She'd never imagined that her hero would be completely inexperienced. She'd assumed if she made her move and he reciprocated, he'd take what he wanted from her. Heather said celebrities were like that.

She pressed her lips together. No. She wouldn't give in to despair. She could still make this work. "Did you like it when I kissed you?"

Tick screwed his face up. “Did I?”

"Ohhhkay, um...let's try it again, only this time, do what I do. Would that be alright?"

"Okay…"

Sadie put her hands on his shoulders. He moved to put his hands on her shoulders. "No, um...just put your hands on my waist."

He complied. Sadie's arms trembled. Dread had joined the butterflies in the puddle at the bottom of her abdomen. "When you kiss me back, don't try to copy me exactly. Just, um, try to be, like, sort of similar, okay?"

The Tick nodded, still looking very uncomfortable. She went on tiptoe again, and he ducked his head down so she could reach him. She pressed her lips to his softly. His softened up and pressed back, and for a moment, it was everything she'd dreamed it would be.

Then everything went sideways. He pulled away and she pursued, not wanting the moment to end. She opened her mouth a little and slid her hand back up to his antenna.

"Ow!" he said against her lips and she let go. His antennae were too sensitive for that. They must be sense organs. But that would mean…

"But you have to be a man, you're so handsome!"

"Thank you, Miss, but I don't think I like all this kissing and antenna poking business."

"Tick, are you...are you human? Does your suit come off at all?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Sadie asked. "Have you ever tried to take it off?"

"I'm...gonna go with...no…?"

The dread in her abdomen curdled. "I want to try," she said. The Tick frowned, his lip curling up. He was going to say no.

"Please," Sadie said. "All I wanted was...I just wanted to...to love you. I thought...please let me try. I just want to see if there's a you under there. Even if it's a you that's not for me."

What nonsense was she babbling? The puddle in her stomach that had been made of love and excitement and desire had spoiled, turning to dread and desperation. The Tick seemed to be on the other side of a wall of glass.

He heaved a great sigh and stepped closer to her. "I think I'd like to see if there's a me under here, too." He got down on one knee and tilted his face up toward her. "Be careful."

Sadie put her hands on his cheeks. He smiled a little bit. Hope flared. Maybe he wasn't completely disgusted by her after all.

Her fingertip traced the line where his mask rested against his cheek. His skin and mask were completely different textures. The mask felt sort of rubbery but didn't yield when she poked it with a fingernail. She leaned closer and he flinched slightly. "No more kissing," she promised. "I'm just trying to see."

She tried to gently wedge a finger under the mask. A man's stubble rasped against her hand. Did The Tick shave? Could he grow a beard? The mask stayed put. It didn't even shift. Sadie jimmied her fingernail in, trying to make even the tiniest gap. Nothing happened.

Hope died as fast as it had been born. The lights in the room dimmed. The emotions in the pit of her stomach flowed downward in dark drips. Sadie jammed her fingernail into his face, no longer caring if she scratched mask or skin. "Careful!" The Tick admonished.

Her fingernail snapped well below the quick. The wall of glass between Sadie and the world cracked. Shards fell out, revealing the darkness beyond. She cried out in pain both physical and mental, clutching her hand. A bit of blood smeared on The Tick's mask. Except it wasn't a mask. It was just him.

This had been a terrible mistake. 

The dark pit opened beneath her, and she didn't just fall in. She pulled it up around herself like a cloak and vanished.


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur pulled his hood back up. Soon he could go home and take a shower. The unseasonable heat had turned his helmet into a soup pot.

Tick wasn’t where Arthur had left him. He must be here somewhere. Maybe the lounge. The blue giant wouldn’t have run off without him...probably.

“Hey, Arthur,” Sage said. His yellow-lined cape flared behind him as he walked up. “Where’s the big guy?”

“I don’t know.” Arthur rubbed his hand on the opposite elbow. “He was here a few minutes ago.”

“You notice anything strange today?”

“Not...really, why?”

Sage glanced around. “I feel something...I don’t know. Spirits both light and dark come through here all the time, but this one’s different.”

“Can you...tell what it is?”

"No, I can't. It's still here, though. Things like this don’t usually stick around so long. Over… there." Sage strode across the lobby, his cape swishing behind him. Arthur followed. The lights flickered and brightened. Sage stopped. "It's gone now. Huh."

A door in front of them opened. The Tick walked out, looking disheveled. Arthur frowned. Tick didn't have hair or wear clothes, how could he look disheveled?

It was more of a disheveled expression on his face than anything else. Also, something alarming on the cheek of his mask. "Tick, is that blood? Are you bleeding?"

" _Can_ I bleed?" Tick asked.

"I don't know, Tick, but you've got blood on your face. What were you doing in there?"

"I'm not sure, chum." He rubbed the back of his blue head. "I was with...the young lady. The one with the talking picture?"

"In the storeroom?" Suspicion worked its way into Arthur's mind. His helmet soup went cold. "Tick, you...you didn't…" He glanced around. The last few stragglers were being escorted out as the open house shut down. Sage had gone into the storeroom and stood deep in thought. Arthur lowered his voice to a frantic whisper. "Did you take that girl into the storeroom and...you know…?"

"I _don't_ know, chum." Tick frowned. "There was kissing, and antenna poking…" He blew out a big breath. "And what happened at the end, wow!"

"Ugh!" Arthur said, waving his hands. "Stop! I don't want to hear that, Tick. I don’t believe this...This could be really bad." He pushed his helmet off and ran his hands back over his sweaty hair. Arthur was afraid of the answer, but the question had to be asked. “What about the blood, Tick?”

“She broke her fingernail. On my face!”

Arthur winced as hard as he’d ever winced, both in sympathy for the injury and distaste at what must have caused it. He rubbed his hand across his forehead. “That...could be worse, I suppose.” Arthur wanted to help his friend, but it wouldn’t be right to just pretend this hadn’t happened. “Um...what happened to the girl? Where did she go?”

“That’s the thing…” Tick scratched his head. Arthur had never seen him so uncertain.

An Aegis agent walked up. “Agent Commander Rathbone wants to see you two,” she said.

Arthur sighed. Anxiety squeezed his sternum. “Alright. Let’s go.”

***

“Afternoon, gentlemen,” Rathbone said. “I want to talk to the Tick first. Arthur, you can cool off in the lounge, if you want.”

A cold drink did sound good, but he couldn’t just leave the Tick here to defend himself alone. “I’d rather stay, sir.”

“You know what this is about?”

“I think so.”

“Wait outside a minute, son. I just want to have a private chat with the blue guy first.”

Arthur sighed and went into the other room. Tick sat down across from Rathbone. Arthur couldn’t hear what they were saying, and couldn’t see Tick’s face.

This wasn’t fair. The Tick didn’t understand what was happening here. He might not even understand what he’d done, or why it was inappropriate. Arthur wasn’t sure why it had happened. Tick had never expressed attraction for anyone, nor any sexual or romantic drive at all. He was just...friendly.

Arthur rubbed his elbow and watched. The Tick’s shoulders had slumped. Arthur knew he shouldn’t jump to conclusions. He couldn’t know who was to blame, but he couldn’t help but think the girl had taken advantage of his friend’s naivete.

“Arthur.”

Arthur turned away from the window. “What’s up, Sage?”

“I hear you’re the man to talk to about getting paperwork pushed through quick?”

“Oh, yeah?” He glanced back to the window.

“Hey, uh...you know, the big guy, he didn’t have sex with that girl in the storeroom.”

Arthur turned back to Sage. “What?”

“That kind of thing leaves a spiritual residue." He cocked his hand in a sort of arcane gesture. "Wasn’t none of that in there. Felt like bad news, instead. That’s why I want to see the security feed for that storeroom.”

“Wait, there’s a camera in there?”

Sage shrugged and let out a chuckle. “It’s Aegis, man. I hear you got some kinda relationship with the paperwork lady?”

Arthur frowned. Requisitioning the security feed could take hours, even making use of the understanding he had with Veranda. Tick was in Rathbone’s office right now, getting berated for something he didn’t even do. He turned and pounded on the office door.

***

“Have a seat.” Rathbone indicated the chair. “You know why I called you in here?”

The big blue hero sat. “I don’t even know who or if I am anymore, Dino-man.”

“What’s that?”

“Is there a me at all, if there’s no me for someone else?”

“I’m not here to get philosophical with you. I’m here to talk about what you did, in that closet, with that girl, during our open house.”

Tick could only shrug, bewildered. It had been one of the most awkward, troubling experiences in his memory, and he couldn’t explain it.

“What you do away from here, in the privacy of your own life, is none of my business. But this office is not some disco club where you can pick up girls.” He punctuated each word with a tap on the table. “Nor is it a place for you to take advantage of your young fans.”

“Is that what I did?” Tick said, his shoulders slumping. He could tell by how worried Arthur was and how angry Rathbone seemed that he’d done something terribly wrong. “She said there was villainy inside her, that--”

Rathbone held up a hand. “I don’t need to hear the details. Whatever she said, whatever your reasons, it can’t happen here. You understand that?”

It was a while before he could figure out how to respond. “I’ll stay out of storerooms, no matter what villainy might be happening inside."

Rathbone frowned. That wasn't the answer he wanted. Tick didn't know how else to explain. "She said she needed help. I didn't know how to help her. I wish Arthur had been there."

Arthur stood right outside the door, talking to Sage the Supernumerary. He turned to the door and started pounding on it. Nearby agents tensed, but Rathbone waved Arthur in.

***

"Agent Commander," Arthur said.

"Arthur!" Tick shouted. "Thank goodness!"

"Son, why are you pounding on my door when I asked you to wait outside?"

"Because Tick didn't do what you think he did."

Rathbone stood up and pointed. "Get in here and close that door!"

Arthur waved Sage into the room and shut the door.

Rathbone was still on his feet. "How many people do you want to involve in this?"

"I want to pull the feed from the storeroom," Arthur said. "It shows--"

"I don't care what it shows," Rathbone said. "I haven't seen any video evidence so far. I've only heard rumors. That's the way you want it to stay, because I have to act on real evidence!"

Arthur stopped short. "Tick could lose his hero license," he said.

Rathbone nodded and sat back down. "That's right."

Arthur nibbled on the edge of one of his fingers, thinking. "Yeah, well, here's a rumor for you. Someone told me they felt a dark presence inside that storeroom. I think whatever it was may have attacked Tick."

"I heard that, too," Sage said, settling his hands on his belt.

"Did anyone tell you what happened to the girl?" Arthur asked.

"No," Rathbone said. "No one saw her leave the storeroom."

Everyone looked at Tick. "Oh, she left, alright," he said. "She sure did."

"Just tell us what you remember," Arthur said.

Tick put his hand up to his face, right over the little smear of blood. "Her shadow ate her."


	4. Chapter 4

Sadie floated in the void, in a state of peace not unlike the border between asleep and awake. Thoughts and emotions flowed through her, none staying long. A snippet of sensation. That fleeting moment of bliss when she could pretend her hero wanted her. The despair when she knew it was impossible. Each gone in an instant, leaving her untouched.

Letting the void absorb her sounded like a good idea. It always seemed like a good idea, when she was here, to cross the barrier into endless sleep. Sometimes she even had to struggle to return. Why bother?

Her dream was dead. She was alone. Except for Heather, who would never leave her, not forever. Could there be other dreams, other loves?

The possibilities flowed pleasantly through her, followed by a visualization of four faint stars arranged in a trapezoid. A moderate amount of effort made them brighter and more distinct. As they came into focus, Sadie braced herself. This was really going to suck.

Sensation crashed back into her body. She stifled a scream behind clenched teeth. The four stars glued to her bedroom ceiling blurred behind a screen of tears. Unresolved desire ached low in her abdomen. Her finger throbbed where her nail had broken. That would need to be addressed, but for now, all that mattered was the pain of her failure. She curled up in the fetal position, hugged her pillow and sobbed.

***

"Her shadow ate her?" Arthur said.

"That could be a lot of things,” Sage said. “None of them good. I gotta see what happened to be sure.”

Rathbone drummed his fingers on the desk. “You got your laptop, Arthur?”

Arthur took off and opened his backpack. “Yes, sir, I have it right here.”

“Hand it over.” He took Arthur’s laptop and opened it. “I’m gonna log you into the agent wi-fi and give you level one clearance. That will give you access to the camera feeds in the lobby and other low-security areas for the last eight hours. It’ll log you out at midnight, or if you leave the building. Don’t try to save anything or upload it to the net, or the system will fry your machine. If I learn you’ve abused this you’ll be in more trouble than the Tick. You understand me?”

“Yes, Agent Commander. Thank you.”

“You remember what I said the first time you came into my office?”

Arthur could never forget that. It was when Rathbone had asked him to keep tabs on the Tick for Aegis. He nodded.

“I want you to try a little harder in the future. For his sake.”

Arthur closed his eyes and sighed. He still didn’t plan on reporting on the Tick behind his back, but none of this would have happened if he had kept a better eye on his friend. “I will.”

“Good. If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen?”

***

"Sadie…" Heather's voice soothed Sadie's jangled nerves. "Oh, my dear, dear Sadie." Heather's gentle hand smoothed her hair. "Don't cry, dear. I'm sorry. Did he hurt you? What happened?"

Sadie uncurled. She couldn't see anyone in the darkness, but her friend's presence was so strong it didn't matter. She held out her hand.

"Oh, my God! You're bleeding! Sadie, you gotta get up and deal with this!"

Sadie just groaned.

"Up, up, up!" Heather said. She pulled and pushed Sadie to her feet and into the bathroom next to her bedroom. Sadie turned the light on and looked at her injury for the first time.

Half the nail on her right index finger was gone. The other half was partially separated from the nail bed. Blood still oozed from the wound. "How did that happen?" Heather asked.

Sadie looked in the mirror. Heather's deep-set black eyes gazed back at her. "I…"

Heather licked her lips. "Go on. Did you rake your fingernails on his back in a moment of passion?"

The lights dimmed. Sadie sighed and looked down at the basin. She turned on the faucet and hissed as cold water hit her wound. "I tried to take off his mask," she said.

Heather's voice was a breathy rasp. "What's he like under all that blue rubber?"

"I don't know," Sadie said. "I couldn't get his mask off. I think it's part of him."

"What?!"

Tears stung Sadie's eyes. "I don’t think he’s a man, Heather. I don't know what he is."

Heather bared her teeth and snarled. "You failed!"

"I told him how I feel. I tried to please him. But he didn't want me. He, he didn't even seem to know what I was asking him for."

"I told you what to do," Heather snarled. "I told you what to wear and how to act. But you thought you knew best, didn't you."

Sadie fought the tears but they rolled over her lower lids anyway. “I don’t think it would have mattered,” she said.

“Excuses!” Heather screamed. She stormed out of the bathroom, knocking over all the toiletries on the counter as she went.

***  
Arthur chugged a bottle of water before he set up his laptop in the heroes lounge. It took him a minute to find the right camera. He jumped the feed backward in 15-minute increments until he saw it: the Tick walking into the storeroom with a girl in tow.

Arthur looked up at Tick, who hovered behind him. The blue hero’s face wore an expression Arthur had never seen before. “You alright, Tick?”

“Do I have to watch this, chum?”

Arthur blinked. “Uh, no. I guess not. If you don’t want to.”

Tick sighed heavily.

“Uh...yeah. Tick, why don’t you go have some coffee or a croissant? Sage and I, we can take care of this.”

Tick looked back at the video. He looked...haunted. He heaved another sigh and went to go sit at the bar.

Arthur turned back to the video. What could have happened that had so disturbed his friend? He hit play. The girl followed the Tick into the storeroom and closed the door behind her. They spoke, and hugged, and kissed. Arthur pressed his lips together. It was so weird seeing the Tick like this.

They broke apart to speak to each other again, and the lights dimmed. “Hmm,” Sage muttered.

After the second round of kissing, even more awkward than the first, he stepped away from her and she got upset. The lights flickered and dimmed even more. Then the Tick got down on one knee in front of her--what the hell was he doing?-- and she put her hands on his face. She pulled her hands away suddenly, obviously hurt. “Tick said she broke her fingernail on his face,” Arthur told Sage.

Then, all the shadows in the room flowed toward the girl, forming a column around her. The rest of the room washed out into a flat plane. The column sank into the floor. The lighting returned to normal. Tick stood alone and bewildered. “Her shadow ate her,” Arthur said.

“Looks like a shadow walker,” Sage said.

“A...sh-shadow walker?”

“Yeah, it’s a kind of mystic who can enter the shadow realm.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“Nah, but it’s not bad, either. D’you see how the lights dimmed and brightened? She’s not doing that on purpose. My guess is she’s untrained, and she reached for the shadows for comfort.”

“Comfort? Really?”

“I hear the shadow realm is a pretty chill place.”

“So, wait...this whole shadow thing isn’t the bad news you were talking about?”

"Nah. It's gotta be like, attached to her somehow, though."

Arthur pressed a knuckle to his lips. "Well, let's see what else we can learn about her from the other cameras."


	5. Chapter 5

Tick didn't want to watch the video, even though he was in it. He didn't want to watch Arthur and Sage watch the video. Tick didn't even want to think about the thing that had happened that was featured in the video his friends were watching, but that wish eluded him. He'd never felt this small, not even when he found out he'd been wrong about Lobstercules.

He sat up to the bar in the heroes lounge, picking a croissant apart with his big blue fingers. Arthur and Sage sat behind him, crowded around Arthur's laptop.

Bronze Star walked up to the counter, capping a half-full water bottle. "Hey, Tick. Would you pass over one of those...whoa, what's wrong, big guy? You look like you haven't a friend in the world."

Tick gasped. That was very nearly the most horrible thing he could think of. Was it true? His closest friend in the world was this moment watching a disturbing video of Tick being disturbed. “Haven’t I?”

“I’m your friend.” Bronze Star sat down at the bar, setting the bottle on the counter in front of him. “What’s going on?”

Tick tried to explain all that had happened over the last hour or so. The girl asking for his help, how he couldn’t figure out what she needed, what she’d done to him, what he’d done to her, Ty Rathbone scolding him, “...and now all this video business.” He gestured at Arthur and Sage.

“Wow, that’s a lot to deal with in one afternoon,” Bronze Star said. “You want some help sorting it all out?”

Tick nodded, frowning, his eyes wide and sad.

“Okay, first of all…” He wetted a napkin with his water bottle and handed it to the Tick. “That's gonna bother me the whole time if we don't take care of it." Bronze Star indicated the blood on Tick’s mask.

Tick had forgotten it was still there. “Thanks.” He gave his face a quick wipe. “Is it gone?”

Bronze Star nodded. “Yeah, that’s much better. So, now...where to begin?” He sighed. “Um...how comfortable are you with talking about sex?”

"Sex?" the Tick said. It sounded familiar...a rush of understanding rushed from the place beyond his mind where understanding lived and bred. The details were vague, but he knew what sex was. "Ohhhhhh…Is that what she wanted?"

Bronze Star nodded. "I think so. She said she wanted to be with you, right?"

"That doesn't mean sex!"

"Weeelll...did she say be _with_ you or _be_ with you?"

"The second one."

"That’s the one that can mean sex, I’m afraid."

"That's a superfluously subtle signal, friend."

Bronze Star chuckled. “You got that right. But a lot of people have trouble talking about sex, even when they’re out looking for it. They get nervous, they fear rejection, they even fear getting what they want."

"Hmm." Tick nodded. "I see. You know what doesn't make sense to me?"

Bronze Star gestured for Tick to continue.

"She said she's in love with me. If you love someone, wouldn't you want to be _with_ them for longer than a few minutes, and outside of a storeroom? Joan and Walter have been together for years, and they have a whole house!"

“Yeah, you’d think.” He pointed past the Tick. “You mind handing me one of those croissants? I’ve been out on the floor since two and I skipped lunch.”

Tick passed him the whole plate of croissants. “Enjoy all the tiny butter you wish, my metallic friend.”

“Ah, thanks.” Bronze Star bit into one. “Mmm, so good. So. Um...yeah. So this girl, she’s one of your fans, right? Short for fanatic? People can get obsessed with celebrities, and obsession plus sexual attraction can make people think they’re in love. But you can’t really be in love with someone you don’t know. They sort of create this persona they think they’d like you to be and pin all of their hopes onto it. It’s not healthy, but it’s fairly common.”

The Tick heaved a big sigh. “That’s why she was so upset. Not only did I reject her, which hurt her feelings, but I disappointed her, by not being the me she wanted me to be.”

Bronze Star nodded big. “Yes! Yes. But Tick, it’s not your responsibility to be everything each person wants you to be. You just gotta be who you are. It’s your right to choose who you want to be with, or if you want to be with anyone. She created this narrative in her mind of who you are based on your celebrity and public heroic traits. She put you on a pedestal and decided that having sex with you in a storeroom was the best she could hope for. That's on her, not you.”

Tick picked thoughtfully at the croissant he still held. “She said she needed my help. Was that a lie to get me to break into a storeroom so she could have her way with me?”

“Maybe. What do your hero instincts tell you?”

“The same thing they did before. She needed my help. But I didn’t know how to help her. I couldn’t help her the way she wanted."

"No, that wouldn't have been good for either of you. And now you're feeling low because you think you failed her. And because Rathbone laid into you but didn’t explain anything.”

“Arthur, too. But I guess that happened because none of them were comfortable talking about sex.”

“Probably.” Bronze Star nodded. 

Tick put the last bite of croissant in his mouth and chewed slowly.

“Are you feeling more sorted now?”  
.  
“I am! Thank you, friend.”

"Any time, buddy."


	6. Chapter 6

Sadie opened the top drawer under the bathroom counter and fished out a gauze pad. Thumps and crashes came from the hall. Heather was pissed. Sadie pressed the gauze pad on her finger and moved out out of the bathroom.

Between her bedroom and the stairs down was a square hall that Sadie had converted into a living room. There was a living room downstairs, but she kept that exactly as Gramma had left it. It was too big to be comfortable. This whole house was too big to be truly comfortable for just one person, but Sadie couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

Her little office space was in the hall, as well as a couch with a coffee table in front and two bookcases. Only the bedrooms had windows on this floor, so several lamps lit up the living space.

Everything from her desk was already on the floor: her laptop, her accordion file, her little keepsake jewelry box. One lamp had been knocked over, the bulb shattered. Books flew across the room and hit the wall. As Sadie entered, Heather wailed and the books changed trajectory to fly directly at her.

Sadie ducked, raising her left arm to keep the books from hitting her in the face. “Heather! Please! Stop this!”

A hum built up in the air. The lamps began to rattle. “I told you!” Heather moaned.

Sadie covered her ears. “Stop! You’re going to break the bulbs again!”

The books currently in the air fell to the floor. The carnival glass candy dish on the coffee table began to tremble. Sadie stood up straight and pointed at it. The gauze on her finger plopped down onto the table.“Don’t you dare! That was Gramma’s!” She shook her finger. “I’ll fight you for every meal. You know I can!”

“You care more about some old bowl than the only friend you’ve ever had?” Heather howled, but the bowl stopped shaking.

Sadie dashed tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “You can’t go on like this! You’ll use up all your strength!”

Heather coalesced on the floor next to the coffee table. Her eyes were darker and even more deep set than usual. Her body was a shadow that resembled a meager scrap of cloth. “You knew what was at stake,” she whimpered.

Sadie dropped herself onto the couch. The gauze pad had fallen off her finger, but the nail bed had stopped bleeding. Heather floated up, her shadow body curling into a tail beneath her. “I told you how to get him. You know how long I’ve been doing this!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sadie said. “I can’t pull off the look, the attitude you want. I’m not...I just can’t.”

“You have plenty of attitude. So many delicious boys we’ve shared, you and I. Some of them were even a little super.”

“I’m tired, Heather. I’m tired of boys, I’m tired of pretending, I’m just...” Sadie sighed, dropping her head back against the couch. “...so fucking tired.”

Heather faded from the spot above the coffee table and gradually reappeared next to Sadie. “I know. My dear, precious friend. I know. But where does that leave me?”

Though the experience as a whole had been awkward and upsetting, there were a few moments that Sadie would have liked to have been able to treasure. If she’d only been able to seduce him, there would be plenty to share, but she had failed. Sadie sighed again, and reluctantly said, “There might be...a few...”

Heather licked her lips. “You have… something… you can give me?”

Sadie squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. Heather’s hands landed gently on Sadie’s shoulders. “Open, then. Let me see.”

“Please,” Sadie said. “I love him. Don’t take him from me.”

“But I’m starving,” Heather growled.

***

Arthur sighed. His hair had dried but he still felt sticky under the suit. "Okay. Let's go over what we know."

The Tick stepped over to them, standing tall again. "How goes the research?"

"I think we hit a dead end, man," Sage said.

"How are you doing, Tick? You okay?"

"I'm great! I was pretty perplexed before, but Bronze Star helped sort me out."

"Oh, yeah?” He looked over at Bronze Star, who was eating croissants at the bar. Bronze Star gave him a little wave. “That’s great, Tick. I’m glad. We were just, uh, gonna go back over what we know, see if there are any connections we missed."

“Fill me in, chum.”

“Right, and maybe, if you’re up to it, I mean, you can give us a bit more detail about what was going on in there?”

“Hmm, well, chum, she asked me for help. I thought she meant a villain was hiding in the storeroom, but now I wonder if she was after help of a different kind.”

“Uh...yeah, Tick, I think it’s safe to say that’s true.”

“But I’m not the me she wanted me to be. I’m not even the me she thought she could find when she tried to take off my mask.”

“I’m sorry...what?”

“She said she wanted to know if there was a me, even if the me wasn’t for her, but she couldn’t take off my mask. She really tried, too. That’s how she broke--”

“--broke her fingernail on your face,” Arthur continued.

“And not finding a me, she disappeared, so I had to wonder, could I disappear, if she--”

“Whoa, there, hang on, man,” Sage said. “I’m gonna stop you right there. She didn’t just disappear, right? She actually went someplace.”

Tick’s eyes grew round. “She did? Where?”

“The shadow realm.”

“Is that...safe?”

“Yeah, I mean, there’s nothing dangerous in there. Sometimes it’s hard to find your way out, but that’s it.”

“So,” Arthur said. “She went in through the storeroom. Where will she come out?”

“Someplace easy to visualize. She probably just went home.”

“Good!” Tick said. He started to bounce. Was he getting ready for action? “We have to find her!”

“Tick,” Arthur said. “I really need a shower, and we’re out of leads. The girl’s not a villain, and she’s probably safe at home. Can we just...pick this up tomorrow?”

“She needs my help,” Tick said.

“You don’t...she’s…” Arthur sighed. “Tick, she only said that so you’d go into the storeroom with her, she…”

“I don’t know about that,” Sage said. “That room was thick with desperation. Whatever she was trying to do, it wasn’t just for fun.”

“We’re out of leads, though.”

“Can’t you do something, Sage? Like you did when Lobstercules abducted Arthur?”

“Not exactly. That was down in the sewer, where people aren’t walking through all the time, and Arthur was close by. To find her in the city, I’d have to have something of hers and a map.”

“Too bad Bronze Star wiped that blood off Tick’s face.”

Sage made a subtle arcane gesture. “Don’t even joke about that. Blood magic is some high-end villainy. I’m talking about an object, something important to her.”

Arthur shook his finger. “You know what? Tick signed a photo for her. It wasn’t in her hands in the storeroom, and she wasn’t carrying a purse.” He turned back to his laptop and called up the storeroom feed with the right timestamp. “See, there, she has it in her hand.”

The girl put the envelope containing Tick’s picture down on a shelf in the storeroom. Arthur fast forwarded the video, and the envelope was still there after she disappeared. Arthur turned to say something to Sage, and jumped, startled, as the mystic rematerialized with the envelope in his hand.

Sage opened up the envelope and slid the photo up. “Damn,” he whispered.

“What is it?” Arthur said, standing up.

“There are some powerful vibes coming off this.”

“Huh...hey Tick,” Arthur said. “Look at this.”

The Tick plucked the photo right out of Sage’s hand. “It’s me,” he said. “From that time with the bus.”

“Yeah, but--”

“Sadie,” Tick read. “The girl, her name is Sadie!”

“Look at the angle of the image. Where was the person who took this standing?”

“In front of me,” the Tick said.

“So you would have seen them. They’d have to be practically under the bus to take this.”

“Invisible cameraman?”

“I don’t know,” Arthur said, pressing his knuckle to his chin.

“May I?” Sage said, holding his hand out for the photo.

The Tick handed it over. Sage took it and held it out at arms’ length. “Powerful vibes,” he repeated. “Feels like she’s linked to a ravenous spirit.”

“Is it going to eat her?” Tick cried.

“Or else it was trying to get her to help it eat you, or parts of you, anyway.”

“What?” Arthur said.

“I’m sorry, I get this is some far-out mystical shit. So I told you there’s spirits all over, right?”

“Yeah,” Arthur said. “Everything is haunted.”

“Even the hungry ones are usually benign. Each person is like, a fountain of spiritual energy, and it doesn’t take much to sustain most spirits. But some are ravenous, and some are particular about what they eat. Those can be dangerous. This one...feels picky, ravenous and starving. There’s no telling what it will do to the girl since she failed to serve up Tick.”

Tick was really bouncing now. “I knew it! She needs our help. Give me a direction, Noble Nipple Man!”

Arthur called up google maps on his laptop. “Will a digital map work?”

Sage gestured at the laptop, holding the photo in his other hand. “Yeah, I’m getting a read.” He laced his fingers together above the third nipple in the middle of his chest. “By the Blind Eye of Thirdarra!” he bellowed. A narrow beam of pure white light shot from the blind eye to the computer screen. “Zoom in, Arthur. The Eye will show us where to find her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote, "I love him. Please don't take him from me." right before I learned the show was canceled on Amazon.


	7. Chapter 7

The incredibly complex fractal paisley pattern untwisted and Arthur found himself standing on a sidewalk in front of a row of brownstone townhouses. The sun had gone down, though the sky wasn’t completely dark. Traffic was fairly light here, for the City, and the houses fit neatly against each other with an air of age and dignity. “Classy!” the Tick exclaimed.

“It’s this one,” Sage said, pointing at the one in front of them. He held up his hand, and his eyes got bigger. “We gotta hurry. Second floor.”

Tick strode up the stairs and pushed the front door open without breaking stride. To their left lay a dark and dusty living room. A night light illuminated part of a pink and white striped tufted sofa. The hall in front of them turned to the left, leading them up a set of stairs.

“You guys protect the girl while I banish the spirit,” Sage whispered. “It’ll put up a fight, probably throw objects around. Be careful.”

The other two gave a nod. At the top of the stairs, a narrow doorway to the right revealed an open area that had been converted into a living space. It was all in shambles. The contents of the desk lay all over the floor, and half the books from the bookcase lay in a heap at the far end. On the couch sat the girl. Her head was thrown back and tears squeezed from her tightly closed eyes as she writhed in agony.

“Ravening spirit!” boomed Sage. “Cease your attack on this innocent and face Sage the Supernumerary!”

The girl gasped and her body relaxed as a form rose above the couch. A hideous laugh emerged from the form and echoed around the room. A head manifested, with a woman’s face and blond hair that flew around the head and faded into shifting shadows at the shoulder. Two hands also emerged, large and heavily lined with perfectly manicured fingernails. “Innocent!” the spirit cackled.

The girl panted as though she had just finished a sprint. She let out a startled yelp and scrambled up onto the back of the couch like a cat when she saw the three heroes.

Sage laced his fingers over the Blind Eye and inhaled. The spirit screeched. “Sadie, help, he’s going to banish me!”

Sadie bared her teeth and took a stance on the couch cushions. “Don’t you fucking dare!” she shouted. Her hands formed into claws and she brought them up to either side of her. As she did, the lights flickered, and the shadows disconnected from their sources and rose up to form pointed shapes, like shards of dark glass. All of them were aimed at Sage.

Sage unlaced his fingers and held them up, taking a step back. “Oh, shit, she’s a shadow weaver!” he said.

“Does that mean she’s a villain after all?” Arthur asked.

“No, it means she’s not just a mystic, she’s a super!”

Tick took a step toward the girl. One of the shadows zipped toward him and stopped, pointed right at his eye. “Don’t!” she cried.

“Be careful,” Sage said. “Shadows are sharper than just about anything.”

“Sadie…” Tick said.

Tears rolled down her haggard face. “I don’t want to hurt you, Tick,” she said. “But I won’t let you banish my friend!”

“Friend?” Arthur said. “It was attacking you!”

“No! I was just feeding her!”

“It was eating big chunks of your soul,” Sage said. “Do you understand that?”

“It grows back!” she growled.

“It leaves wounds, and scars,” Sage said. “I can see them. Fresh wounds, and so many scars. How long has this been going on?”

“Heather has always been my friend. Always!”

“Friends don’t eat friends,” Tick said.

“It’s maiming you!”

“Wouldn’t you donate an organ to save a friend’s life? Wouldn’t you sacrifice a limb so that your only friend could live? You’re heroes! You risk your lives for strangers!”

“You can’t sustain a ravenous spirit,” Sage said. “Sooner or later, it will kill you, and move on without remorse. Then some other girl will have to feed it, same as you did!”

“Lies,” the spirit hissed. “I would never do that. I love you, Sadie. Besides, I’m all you have!”

“She’s all I have!” Sadie shouted. The shadow spears zipped forward a bit. Sage took a step back and the spears stopped.

“That’s what she wants you to think,” Arthur said. “You think she’s your friend, but she’s abusing you.”

“No!”

Arthur lowered his hands slightly. “Just think about it. She isolates you, doesn’t she. Gets between you and other, healthier relationships. She controls you, tells you where to go, how to dress, and punishes you when you resist. Doesn’t she.”

Sadie glanced over at the spirit she’d called Heather. “Don’t listen,” the spirit said. 

“If, if you had a friend, a human friend, whose partner controlled their every move, beat them and trashed their house, maimed and scarred them, would you respect their wishes and just let it happen?”

“Put a shadow through his neck, that’ll shut him up!” Two of the shadow blades zipped toward Arthur. He flinched, but the blades stopped six inches from his face.

“I, I bet,” Arthur said. “This whole thing today, with Tick, was her idea.”

“Trying to manipulate the flavor of what she takes from you,” Sage said.

“You’re wrong! I’ve loved Tick since that first rescue. Since I saw the video...that Heather sent me…”

"But would you have gone through with it, without her encouragement? Without her threats?"

Sadies chin quivered. There were so, so many things she wouldn't have done without Heather's encouragement and threats.

"Kill them now!" Heather shrieked. The pile of books by the bedroom door rose up and pelted the heroes. Tick stepped in front of Arthur and allowed the books to hit him, only knocking away the ones that would have hit him in the face.

“Stop it!” Sadie shouted. “I won’t murder them for trying to help me!”

“They’ll banish me,” Heather said. “And then they’ll leave you alone. All alone and broken, while they go back to their heroes lounge and eat their heroes cake, and they’ll congratulate themselves on a job well done while you rot in solitude and silence until the day you die!”

Sadie's face crumpled. "I'll never forget the look on the Tick's face when the bus went over the overpass with Arthur inside,” Sadie whispered. “It was the face of a person who had no one left in the world. I saw that look in the mirror every day after Gramma died and Heather was the only one who stayed with me!”

“That’s why you chose me,” Tick said.

“I don’t want to be alone!” Sadie wailed. The shadow blades trembled in the air as she cried.

“Sadie,” Tick said. He took another step toward her. Half the blades zipped in front of him. “Maybe there is a me for you.”

“Don’t do this,” Sadie said.

“Tick--” Arthur said.

“Don’t worry, chum. I was mixed up before, but now I get it. Sadie’s lonely, and she thinks a monster’s the only one left who will ever love her.”

The blades trembled even more. “Stop it,” Sadie protested.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Tick said.

“No, it’s not,” Sadie said. “You’re going to say you love me but it’ll be a lie, just to get me to let down my guard, and then you’ll leave me alone just like Heather said you would!”

“I would never do that,” Tick said. “It’s true, I’m not the me you were hoping I was. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a me at all, and it doesn’t mean there isn't a me for you. I can’t be with you the way you thought you wanted, but I think what the real you needs is a real friend. Someone who will protect you, not use you. I think the real me can be a real friend to the real you.”

Heather chuckled. “Listen to this guy,” she growled. “What a bunch of nonsense!”

Tick took another step forward into the midst of those trembling shadow blades. He carefully used his forearm to slowly sweep them from in front of him, and they moved out of his way. “You don’t have to feed your spirit to a monster. I’ll stay with you, for as long as you need me to.”

“You mean it?” Sadie squeaked.

“No!” Heather wailed.

Tick used a big blue finger to gently push one last shadow blade away from his face. “Hero’s honor,” he said.

In unison, the shadows fell, returning to their original positions. Tick extended his hand to her and she took it, stepping down from the couch. Books flew around the room again while Heather moaned and wailed. Sage snapped his fingers and all the books reappeared on the bookcase. He laced his fingers together over the Blind Eye.

“Sadie!” Heather cried. “How could you!”

“I’m sorry,” Sadie sobbed. “I’m so tired. I can’t be who you want me to be anymore. I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this.”

“He’s going to banish me!”

“Good-bye, Heather.”

“By the Blind Eye of Thirdarra!” Sage bellowed. White light filled the room along with the furious shrieks of the ravenous spirit. When the light faded, the spirit was gone.

Sadie collapsed against the Tick’s chest, sobbing. He gathered her up into a tight hug. “I’m here,” he told her. “It’s gonna be okay.”

And oh, it was just like when he’d hugged her before, except better, because she didn’t have to please anyone, and she didn’t have to feed anyone. That awkward lust she’d felt before was gone, replaced by something else, something warmer and sweeter. He might not be a man. His mask might never come off. But he was real, and he was here. Nothing else mattered.


	8. Chapter 8

Arthur groaned as the water washed over him. Finally. So what if it wasn't his shower or his shampoo and he was going to smell a little more floral than he'd like. After a full day of superheroism, of twice having sweat dry under his helmet, of having to fly back to his apartment alone to pack a bag, smelling like flowers seemed a small price to pay.

“She’s brave and powerful,” Sage had said. “I think she’d make a good hero, but she needs guidance.” He’d gone on to say that his powers didn’t work enough like Sadie’s to make him a proper mentor, but he knew someone on the Righteous Squad back in Baltimore that might be interested in an apprentice. “That’s mystic for sidekick,” Sage had said with a chuckle before teleporting away.

All Sadie was interested in was being as close as possible to Tick. He was taking his oath to her so literally and to the letter that he’d even asked permission to let go of her hand long enough to go to the bathroom, much to her embarrassment. She’d made him a snack she called “banana whippy waffle”, which was basically a toaster waffle with a couple of banana slices on it smothered in spray whipped cream. Tick had loved it so much he’d eaten a whole can of spray whip, and then Sadie had pulled another one out of the fridge.

Arthur shook his head, letting the water run over his shoulders. He still couldn’t believe that an adult actually had more than one can of spray whip in their fridge.

He dressed in sleep pants and t-shirt and went back into the little open living room area she’d set up at the top of the stairs. Sadie had offered Arthur and Tick the third-floor bedrooms, but it looked like the two of them were going to sleep on the couch tonight. Tick slept sitting up with his head tilted back and his mouth wide open, but he wasn’t snoring. Sadie was snoring softly, her head pillowed on Tick’s thigh.

Her breathing changed, she winced and let out a whimper. Tick woke immediately and rubbed his hand on her arm, whispering, “It’s okay. I’m here.” She slowly relaxed and fell more fully asleep.

He looked up at Arthur, his face creased with concern. “Arthur. Do you think she’ll be okay? She’s been having bad dreams the whole time she’s been sleeping.”

“Yeah,” Arthur whispered. “People don’t recover from this sort of thing overnight. But yeah, ultimately I think she’ll be okay.” He sighed. “Hey, Tick...I think I owe you an apology.”

“What for?”

“I should have let you explain what was going on, instead of jumping to conclusions. I should have...trusted you more, to know and do what was right. I’ll try to listen better in the future.”

“Apology accepted. Thanks, chum.”

“Well, I’m going to head up to bed. Good night, Tick.”

“Good night, Arthur.”


End file.
